Always a great selection of U.S. collector coins

April 2007

TELESPHERE NUMISMATICS WEB SITE HAS MOVED!

In the last issue of our newsletter, we announced that the Telesphere Numismatics web site would be moving to a new location on the Internet. The move was completed on April 16, 2007. Our new Internet address (also called URL, for Uniform Resource Locator) is www.telecoins.com.

This change results from an agreement signed during March to transfer our old Internet domain, telesphere.com, to another company. The agreement is exclusively for the rights to that domain and does not involve any other aspects of our business. The proceeds of the domain sale will enable us to serve you better than ever in the future, including an expanded selection of collectable coins and paper money.

Please take a moment to update our site's entry in your web browser's Favorites menu (if you use Internet Explorer) or Bookmarks menu (as it's called in Firefox, Netscape and some other browsers) and visit us during the coming weeks and months for an expanded inventory and new features.

CURRENT SPECIAL

Our already discounted prices have been further reduced on 60 great collector coins, while they last. Digital photographs of most of these coins can be viewed by clicking entries on our Current Special page.

The sale will end no later than April 30, 2007. Individual coins will be removed as they're sold.

COIN AND PAPER MONEY PHOTOGRAPHY, PART 1

This article is the first in a series on photographing coins and paper money. Pictures may be useful for inventory purposes (e.g. in the event of theft or of fire or other damage) and when selling to prospective buyers who cannot examine items in person.

For several years we created digital coin images with a flatbed scanner. Tips for scanning coins were first published on our web site 10 years ago.

Digital photography has advanced dramatically in recent years. We began photographing (rather than scanning) coins and notes in early 2001 and purchased a more advanced digital camera for that purpose in late 2006. In our opinion photography generally produces higher quality images compared to scanning, particularly for uncirculated coins. While some scanners do an excellent job of capturing details, cameras are superior for reproducing subtle color variations and luster.

Equipment needed for coin photography includes a camera, tripod, table or stand for the items being photographed, and lighting. In the remainder of this article, we discuss choosing a suitable camera. For pictures to be displayed online, digital cameras are preferable to film cameras because the time and expense of processing and printing film and then scanning the print is eliminated.

Digital camera prices range from under $100 for models with limited features to over $1000 for models designed for professionals. At a minimum you'll need a camera with a macro capability and a tripod mount. Other useful features include custom white balance and spot metering. If you already have a digital camera with a macro feature, you're ready to go until such time (if any) you decide an upgrade makes sense.

The macro feature enables pictures to remain in focus when the camera and subject are at a close distance (the minimum distance varies from one camera model to another). Tripod mounts are nearly universal on cameras these days. White balance is for accurately representing colors and depends on the light source. Most digital cameras have several built in white balance settings for various light sources. However, our experience has been that additional color adjustments after the picture has been taken may still be necessary to get accurate color representation. Custom white balance allows you to color correct for your actual lighting conditions and thereby eliminate post-processing adjustments in most cases. With spot metering exposure is determined from a limited area in the scene, which can be filled by a coin. Otherwise, the camera meters light from the entire frame, and a coin photograph may be underexposed or overexposed.

Among the many other features available on some digital cameras are zoom, the capability to shoot movies and record sound, interchangeable lenses, and various levels of manual control, just to name a few. More info on those features is available online in independent camera review as well as manufacturers web sites. When selecting a camera, take into account how else you intend to use it. For example, if you plan to shoot pictures of your child's soccer game or wildlife, you may want a camera with a high powered optical zoom and perhaps a movie capability. Other factors in choosing a camera include size and weight considerations and, of course, how much you're willing to spend.

After considering these and other criteria in the fall of 2006, we purchased a Canon Powershot S3 IS. This camera has a regular macro feature that works to within 4 inches and a super macro feature that allows even closer shots. With the super macro feature, we're able to get detailed shots of smaller coins as well as most die varieties. The S3 also has custom white balance and spot metering capabilities. All of the coin and paper money photos posted on our web site since November 2006 have been taken with this camera.

Other aspects of coin and paper money photography will be addressed in future installments of this newsletter.

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